The Devils Luck
by Normryl
Summary: Chapter 6 up. Face has always had a way with the ladies, but now his previous actions will come back to haunt him and he won't be the only one who suffers. Warning: This ain't a pretty one!
1. Cross My Heart

Title: The Devil's Luck

Author: Therm

Copyright: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters here, with the exception of Mick Davis, Sandra Hanson, Trevor Briggs and Michael Thomas.

Summary: Face has always had a way with the ladies. But now previous actions will come back to haunt him and he won't be the only one to suffer.

Warnings: Spoiler for the episode 'Beast From The Belly Of A Boeing.' NonCon m/m- not graphic in details. Violence and injuries. Blood and sickness. Swearing.

The Devil's Luck

1.Cross My Heart

Face was startled by a loud crash from the lounge, before he sighed and left the half made bed momentarily.

"Murdock, what are you doing?" Face asked as he saw the lamp on the floor, which had a crack in it, running from top to bottom.

"Nothing." The pilot replied, sitting back down on the sofa with a thud.

"If you needed something why didn't you call?" Face asked as he looked at his friend.

Murdock's eyes were still swollen shut from the powder burns to his face, making it hard for him to navigate around the place. It seemed to be worse on the left side, part of the damage was above Murdock's left eye on his head and the other was by the side of his eye. Too close to it for Face's own comfort.

Face had brought him back here as soon as they were finished on the job, but it was clear to him that Murdock was having a hard time adjusting to life without sight right now. It hadn't been any easier for Face either. Whenever he did anything he had to keep telling Murdock where he was going and what he was doing so Murdock wouldn't panic if Face didn't answer him or come when he was called. He'd stayed close by at all times, on Hannibal's orders, so that Murdock was never fully alone and so that his voice was always nearby to soothe his friend.

Murdock shrugged his shoulders and turned away from Face. "S'okay, I'll just sit here 'til you're finished."

"I'm almost done making your bed, then you can have my full attention, okay?"

Murdock heard Face retreat into the next room again and then the soft, gentle sound of the sheets and pillows being tucked in and fluffed up.

It wasn't Face attention that he wanted. In fact, it was the opposite. He wanted to have some time alone.

Since the mission, Murdock hadn't had a minute to himself. They didn't want Murdock going back to the VA with powder burns, even if it was just to collect his things, so it had somehow fallen down to Face to take care of Murdock for a few days. Hannibal had a film lined up he wanted to audition for called 'Monster With A Heart', which meant he'd be doing some travelling and he thought it might be best if Murdock stayed in a location where he was at least vaguely familiar with. B.A wanted to get back to the kids centre, but he said Murdock could help out some when he was better, which Murdock presumed meant 'could see'. Now he knew how it felt to be a bad penny, being passed about and unwanted.

He knew the guys were just looking out for him but he felt he didn't need looking after like this, not to the point of never being left alone. Of course he knew that if it had happened to any of the others he'd be acting the same way, so he couldn't blame them.

"Okay, I'm all finished." Face said as he made his way to the couch and sat down next to Murdock, laying a hand on his friends knee briefly. "So what do you want to do?"

"I'm hungry. Watcha got to eat?"

"Er, well, what do you want?"

"I'd really like to sink my teeth into a Double Whammy Bonanza Burger. With fries."

A genuine look of disgust played across Face's features thinking about greasy meal, but if it was what Murdock wanted, then it was what they'd have. At least after a little resistance. "Aww, Murdock, you know that means we have to go out, drive about 10 miles _just_ for a burger."

"It's not _just_ a burger, Face, it's a Double Whammy..."

"Yeah, okay, I get it. Come on then, I'll get your jacket."

"I'm not going."

"What? Why not?"

"You may not have noticed, but I can't see and I have some major facial issues right now. I think I might attract a little attention."

"I thought that was the reason why Hannibal took the corvette, so we could travel around in something more discreet."

"No, he took it so he could drive the vette around all weekend and look like a proper Hollywood player, like you try to." Murdock mocked.

"So what, you're worried people will look, does that matter?

"No, not until they look who I'm with." Murdock put on a voice, not a million miles from Goofy's "'Hey isn't that that wanted criminal?'"

"If Hannibal finds out he'll kill me."

"How's he going to find out? You need to relax, muchacho. Everthing'll be fine. You're just getting a burger"

"I didn't think it was _just_a burger?" Face retorted.

"All this talk isn't getting me fed, you know? You're a lousy host."

"Alright, I'm going. Don't answer the door or phone, okay?"

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die."

oOo

Face balanced the drinks in one hand, the bag containing the food tucked under his arm as he attempted to lock the car door, not an easy task, especially when there was a hungry man waiting for you inside. The fading light of the approaching dusk didn't help either.

A scuffing on the pavement caught his attention, and he turned to see who was about. Imagining Murdock having left the house and going for a walk, Face was almost relieved when he saw an unfamiliar man standing there, at least until he noticed the gun pointed at him.

"Mr. Peck. You certainly took some tracking down."

"I think there's been some sort of mistake..."

"We don't make mistakes." The man said.

"We?"

"There's a few of us here and it may not surprise you to find that you're covered pretty well. I wouldn't try anything."

"Who are you?"

"Names Mick Davis. You don't know me, but this name may ring a bell, Sandra Hanson"

"I've never heard of her." Face lied, as the name Sandy wrapped itself around his brain.

"Bull. She told me all about you're little get together, begged me for forgiveness and said that **_you_** seduced her. Now, lets get inside where we can sort this out like real men."

Face's mind flashed to Murdock inside. He couldn't let them get in there with him. There was no telling what was going on here but he knew if they tried anything, Murdock would come to his aid and he was in no condition to get in a fight. "Look, why don't we take this some place quieter. I have guests inside."

Davis smiled at him. "We already know about your blind friend in there. There's a gun on him right now, so I don't think we'll have too much of a problem keeping him in line, do you?"

Face cringed inside. Hannibal and the others always warned him he'd get into trouble one day the way he played about. Most of the bimbos he went with claimed they were unattached and maybe he was the dumb one believing them all.

Sandra was no exception. She told him she'd broken it off with her boyfriend and was just looking for some fun.

These results didn't seem very fun to him.

Davis pushed Face forward and told him to unlock the door, taking the bag of food from Face's arms and throwing it on the lawn away from the house, then repeating the process with the drinks. Once the door was unlocked, Davis pushed Face away and signalled to someone to come over.

"Thomas, you and Briggs go move our friend out of the way, while I have a little chat with Mr. Peck." Davis said to the man. He was the usual flunkie, muscular and mean.

Thomas nodded quickly and made his way into the house. Face realised a few seconds later that the other man, Briggs, must have been in there all along, he'd assumed that they just had Murdock covered. He heard one of the men speaking to Murdock and Face imagined his friend trying to figure out what was happening.

"Shall we, Mr. Peck?" Davis said, pointing the way forward with the gun.

Face lead the way into the house and saw the place was wrecked.

The back window was smashed in and several pieces of furniture had been knocked over. Face guessed that once these guys saw Murdock wasn't able to see them, they had a little fun in tearing the place up, disorientating him as much as possible. If that wasn't the case, then Murdock had put up a fight before he'd been over powered. In the end, the result was the same. Murdock was being kept at bay by two thugs while Face was held at gunpoint by a guy whose girlfriend he'd slept with.

He wasn't sure how things could get much worse.

oOo

"So Peck, I guess you thought you were real smooth, huh? Moving in on my girl like that."

"Look, if I'd known..."

"Shut it." Davis was a good 5 inches taller than Face and bulky too, someone that if the team were going up against, they'd leave for B.A to fight.

Face could hear the men in the next room talking, things being moved about, wondered if they were roughing up Murdock by now. "Can't we just sort this out like grown men?" Face attempted, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him. He didn't expect the man to talk this through over coffee but it was worth a try and it gave him a little more time to think of a way out of this.

Davis aimed the gun at Face's head. "This ends now."

And then he pulled the trigger.

TBC.


	2. World Stopping

2. World Stopping

Murdock was pulled into the room by the man who had barged into the house shortly after Face had left.

He'd been waiting for Face to get back, his stomach growling at the lack of food in it and then, all of a sudden there was thunderous smash of glass. Instinctively Murdock hit the floor, covering his head. Once his ears stopped ringing, he sat up, listening for anything that could explain what was happening. There was a lot of banging and crashing, things being knocked over, and he kept low until it stopped. When it did, he heard the unmistakable sound of a hammer being pulled back on a gun, then the cool metal on the barrel against the side of his head.

He'd been told to sit on the couch and not move. Not long after, he'd heard the van pull up outside and he'd assumed it was Face. He wished there could have been some way for him to warn his friend, but without being able to take in his surroundings he had little choice than to wait for Face to make an opportunity available. After hearing the door being unlocked someone else entered the room and he told the man already in, Briggs he found out, that they were to move Murdock into a different room.

Briggs grabbed hold of Murdock's arm roughly pulling him to his feet and pushing him forward until he felt the bed in front of him. One of the men pushed Murdock so he fell onto the bed and he quickly moved across to the other side, away from them for a moment.

"Soften him up." That was Thomas, who cracked his knuckles, a sound Murdock had always hated.

Murdock tried to find something he could use against the men, but the bedside table had nothing on it. He remembered Face saying that he'd clear out anything that Murdock might accidentally break. Before he had a chance to do anything else, he felt the first blow connect with his cheekbone. It snapped Murdock's head round as he wasn't prepared for where or when it was coming. Before he knew it, Briggs pulled him off the bed by his arm and knee'd him in the stomach several times, knocking the wind out of him.

Murdock was doubled over, trying to recover his breath as Briggs stood over him. "This is too easy." Thomas said, watching from the other side of the room.

"You're telling me." Briggs said, this time kneeing Murdock in the face. A crunching noise assured him he'd just broken Murdock's nose as the injured man crumpled to the floor.

A gun shot reverberated around the room, awakening Murdock to the seriousness of these men's intentions here. "Face?" Murdock yelled, hoping to hear an answer. When one didn't come he feared the worse.

"Looks like we're finished here." Briggs said.

"Well, there's still one loose end to tie up." Thomas replied, nodding down at Murdock. "I'll see what the boss wants us to do with him."

Murdock heard footsteps across the floor, before a hand reached down for a handful of his hair, his cap having been knocked off sometime during the attack, and pulled him up until he was half slumped across the bed.

"Nice job fella's." Davis said, entering the room and appreciating the work they'd done on Murdock. "I'm all finished here. You can take the rest of the night off to with as you please. Just make sure our sightless friend there has reason to stay quiet, you know what I mean."

"Sure thing." Briggs said. Davis walked away, leaving the other two men behind. Briggs turned to Thomas. "Why don't you let me take care of this?"

"Oh, I get it." Thomas said. "Yeah, well after you're done, at least we'll know he'll shut up."

"Oh, I'll make sure of that."

oOo

Briggs sat on the bed as he finished pulling his boots back on.

He'd been finished pretty quickly, at least quicker then he'd expected, but he knew it had been a while and the fight before hand him in the right mood.

He knew that nothing about what had happened here would leave this house. His victim lay on the floor, still in the same position that he'd fallen. That was one of the best things about this particular job, no eye witness. He smirked as he stood up. He was ready to go.

Briggs walked to the door and saw the mess that had been made of Peck. He looked away. Everything he needed to do here was done, yet he still felt he was missing something. Not sure what it was, he hesitated before moving any further. He shook his head, as though it were someone else making him doubt himself and walked towards the door. He turned the handle to leave before a voice stopped him.

"You forgot something." Murdock said, the gun pointing at the door.

Briggs saw the man squeeze the trigger, aiming blindly for the door as he let off several shots.

He dived out the way, but the fourth one hit home, and he went crashing to the ground. As he landed he felt another jolt as he was hit again.

oOo

Murdock found the gun under the bed as soon as Briggs had thrown him to the floor.

The pain he was in was like something he'd never felt before.

He'd felt pain as bad as it before, but this was different. When Briggs had finished with him, he simply dropped Murdock off the side of the bed and Murdock felt like his ribs had been crushed as he landed painfully on the hard floor. His right arm had been sprawled out and he hadn't been able to block the fall, but now he realised in it's own way, that was a good thing. His fingers lightly touched the cool metal and he realised that at his fingertips was Briggs' gun.

He gently reached for it, moving it round until he had the handle in the palm of his hand and then stayed still as he heard Briggs pick up his jeans from the floor and zip them back up. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the booted man's shoes cross the floor, until he was out of the bedroom. Murdock carefully pulled his arm out from under the bed, and checked the gun. It was still fully loaded, safety on. He was ready to go.

He crawled across the floor, feeling his way against the wall, until he found the door frame, stopping short of being exposed. He listened out carefully. He didn't know where Briggs was, so waited until he heard him move. He could only hear the boots still, no one else was moving which meant Face was hurt bad. Fear gripped Murdock as he thought about what might have happened to his friend and then, the noise he'd been waiting for.

Murdock pulled himself past the frame and pulled the hammer back on the gun. Murdock heard the handle being turned and visualised as best he could the room. "You forgot something." He said, as he then fired off several shots.

The fourth shot was what hit him, and he heard the pain filled gasp and then the thud to the ground, but Murdock still fired again, this time lower.

He couldn't tell if he had him for good, he needed to make sure. Keeping the last bullet, just in case,

Murdock carefully made his way out of the door, still using the wall as a guide, and crawled on hands and knees across the floor. It hurt his knees, but it didn't matter, he just had to find Face.

His hand came into contact with a wet substance first of all, and he withdrew from it, scared by what he was sure would be a crimson stain on his fingers. Keeping his hand in mid-air, he moved it forward again, until he came into contact with the body. Leaving the gun on the floor next to him, he felt around, trying to find his way quickly around Face's anatomy and feel for a pulse. He made out Face's arm and travelled along it, until he was sure he was moving towards his head. Once he reached Face's shoulder, he moved until he found the pulse his neck and was relieved when he felt it pounding underneath.

Feeling some of the panic ease off, knowing Face was alive, Murdock knew he needed help here.

He needed to call B.A, knew Hannibal was going away.

A quick flash came into Murdock's head about what B.A would find here. Two bodies sprawled on the floor and a half naked man. After the phone call, Murdock knew he had to clean himself up. He couldn't have B.A worrying about him when Face needed help.

He wouldn't let Face down.

oOo

B.A was ready to sit down and enjoy his night when the phone started to ring.

He considered ignoring it, but that was never an option when you were on the run. It could be Hannibal or Face warning him that Lynch was on his way. Could be Mama.

B.A picked up the receiver. "Yeah?" He said. He wasn't going to pretend to work for Lou's delivery or some other fake company like Face and Hannibal had said. Even if it was Lynch, what was he going to do, arrest him over the phone?

"B.A, I need you." Murdock voice said, sounding shaky in a way that scared every single cell in B.A's body.

"Murdock, what's happened?" B.A demanded, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"Some guys turned up at Face's. He's hurt, don't know how bad. I-I can't see it and I don't want to touch it...him."

"Just stay calm. I'll be there." B.A interrupted.

"B.A, hurry up, there's someone else here too."

"What?"

"I shot him. I don't know...I had to do something, couldn't let him leave..." Murdock trailed off.

"I'm comin'."

B.A hung up. Adrenaline pumped through him as he raced to the door, ready to race to Murdock and Face's rescue. He'd call Hannibal on the way, tell him what was happening.

He just hoped Face wasn't hurt too bad.

oOo

Murdock crawled on the floor in the bedroom, trying to find his pants and boxers that had been discarded earlier.

Stupidly and selfishly, his biggest fear right now was for B.A to get here and find him like this. He couldn't let that happen.

Murdock felt a familiar fabric and pulled the item towards him, his hands shaking. The boxers were still caught up in his pants, easier for finding and Murdock quickly turned the pants in the right way. Murdock was about to pull them both on, but thought about the blood.

He knew there was blood and his pants were light, it'd seep straight through and B.A would ask him if he was hurt.

Murdock realised he needed to get to the bathroom, try and clean himself up a little. He moved across the wooden floor quicker now, fear driving him on, taking his pants with him. He had to make sure B.A didn't find out what happened to him.

He felt hot as he made his way onto the cool tiled floor of the bathroom. It wasn't far from the room he had been in, he was relieved of that.

Murdock didn't have time to waste and finding the toilet, he grabbed for the paper roll hanging next to it. He pulled off a generous amount and rubbed at his thighs, hoping he was removing the blood stains. He worked his way up his legs, touching to make sure he was dry there now.

Disposing of the bloodied tissue, he pulled more off and gently touched it against his skin, where he knew the blood would still oozing from. It hurt just to touch the skin, but he knew if he didn't do this, then B.A would find out.

Despite the pain, he carried on with the process.

oOo

"Lou's delivery?" Hannibal answered as he drove the vette down the roads on his way back to his apartment. Tomorrow he was preparing to leave for the audition he had.

"Hannibal, it's me. Murdock just called. Said something happened and Face is hurt." B.A reeled off quickly.

"What? When?"

"Don't know. I'm heading there now. I'll get there in about five minutes, see what's what."

"I'll be there in ten. If it's bad..."

"I'll meet you at the hospital if it is."

oOo

Murdock pulled his boxers up, stuffing some folded up toilet paper in there, hoping it would soak up any mess he made.

He pulled his pants on over the top, doing up the zip and fastening. He felt flushed, a sticky mess. He made his way, yet again on his hands and knees back to where Face was.

Finding the pulse again, Murdock sat with him, not sure what else he could do, except try and find the wound and stop his friend bleeding to death.

He didn't feel like he could do it though. He'd been cleaning himself up, his hands were no doubt covered in blood and god knows what else, he could infect Face just trying to help him. It was best he just waited.

B.A wasn't far from here, he'd no doubt be here any minute.

A noise nearby made Murdock turn, even though he couldn't see what it was. "B.A?"

"You ain't that luck, buddy." Briggs said, having got back to his feet.

Before Murdock could do anything, a yell, almost a war cry, resounded through the room and there was the sound of a tussle going on and the familiar sound of fists connecting with flesh and bone. "Yeah he is, sucker." B.A said, angry.

"B.A" Murdock said, relieved for the arrival of his friend. "You gotta help Face."

"Oh man..." B.A mumbled.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I need you to just stay out the way, Murdock." B.A said, almost pushing the pilot aside with his arm. Murdock slid back as best he could, trying to make the movement seem smoother than it felt, although he knew B.A's concentration was on Face right now.

Murdock waited as he heard B.A talk gently to Face, telling him he'd be fine and other general words of comfort. After a few moments, B.A spoke to Murdock. "We gotta get goin' to a hospital. I'm gonna carry him out to the van. Grab holda my shirt, don't let go. I'll tell you when there's a step. Get up."

Murdock heard B.A stand up and grunt slightly with the effort of picking up Face's dead weight in his arms. Blindly reaching out, Murdock connected with B.A's arm. B.A manoeuvred so Murdock didn't have to. "Hold on, I'm going now."

B.A took big steps and Murdock struggled to keep up with him, but he managed it, knew Face was hurt badly.

Once they reached the van, B.A told Murdock to let go, while he went and laid Face in the back, covering him with a blanket. Murdock stood still, waiting for B.A to command him to move again.

He heard the door slide shut. B.A grabbed Murdock roughly and moved him to the passenger door, opening it up. "Get in." He said, as he dashed across to the drivers side.

Murdock quickly clambered in, shutting the door at the same time as B.A did.

Within seconds B.A was tearing down the road to hospital.

TBC


	3. Unity

3. Unity

Hannibal pulled up by the hospital.

He'd heard nothing else since B.A had called and couldn't decide whether it was a good or bad thing. He knew realistically B.A wouldn't call him back, but he had hoped that maybe he'd let him know that things weren't as bad as they had imagined. He was sure that if it had been minor, B.A would have called to stop Hannibal from worrying unduly. The number of things racing through his mind right at the moment, all of them the worse things possible, the worse case scenario.

He knew he had to be aware of that, knew it was highly possible.

Hannibal got out of the car, and headed towards the hospital. He spotted the van, parked over to one side. B.A hadn't worried too much about being discreet, which meant that Face must have been bad, but another bad sign was that Murdock was still in the van.

He decided to pay the captain a quick visit, before going to see Face, more to let him know he was here than anything else.

He walked quickly across the car park and knocked on the glass, before turning the handle. The door was locked, and he noticed Murdock looked a little startled by the sudden presence of someone banging on the window.

"Murdock, it's Hannibal. Open up." He said.

He watched as the pilot searched for the handle and unlocked the door. Hannibal opened it as he heard the lock click. "What are you doing out here?"

"B.A wanted to get Face in, said if all three of us went in, we'd draw too much attention."

Hannibal knew it must have been pretty serious. "How long have you been here?"

Murdock shrugged his shoulder. "Don't know."

"I'm gonna go find out how Face is. Then either me or B.A will come back and let you know. Just stay here." Hannibal said.

Murdock nodded, and Hannibal shut the door again. He heard Murdock lock it as he began walking towards the hospital entrance.

oOo

B.A sat in the waiting room, hoping someone would come out soon.

He'd told Murdock as they drove here that he'd have to wait in the van, he couldn't afford the time to take care of Murdock as well as Face. Only once on the way down had Murdock asked what had happened to Face and B.A hadn't answered. He couldn't. Didn't want to tell Murdock, especially with him not being able to see right now, he could imagine something ten times worse than it actually was, but then again, it was bad enough. He was sure you couldn't think up anything much worse.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hannibal, who came into the room. He looked anxious, tense.

He didn't say anything, just closed the door and came and sat down. Hannibal didn't even have to say anything, B.A knew what he wanted.

"Bullet went into his eye." B.A said. "Haven't heard anything from the doctors yet."

Hannibal nodded, shocked by what he'd heard. Didn't expect this. After a few moments of silence, Hannibal spoke up. "B.A, you need to go."

"What? I need to see how Faceman is." He argued.

"No. We can't risk getting spotted here. You need to get Murdock somewhere safer. See what he can remember about what happened and check out Face's place, see if you can find anything there that'll help. Just keep in the van as much as you can and I'll call you the minute I'm told what's happening." B.A was silent for a while, before finally agreeing.

"We need names as well. We can't find out who did this to Face unless Murdock can remember them. See what you can do."

oOo

"What have the doctors said, B.A?" Murdock asked.

"I ain't heard nothing from them yet, man. I need to tell ya about Face. He got hit in his left eye. Don't know how bad it is yet."

"He... won't be able to see." Murdock stated.

"His right eye ain't been hit. Can you remember who came, Murdock? Who did it to him?"

"They didn't say." B.A saw Murdock frown in intense concentration. "One guy broke in when Face was out. He came in through the back window. He was, er, that was the guy who was still there when you showed up. Briggs. There was another guy, who was in the room with me called...Thomas. But neither of them shot Face, they were in the room with me all the time."

B.A suddenly started the engine and the van roared to life.

"Where are we going?" Murdock asked, alarmed.

"Back to Face's. If that guy Briggs' is still there, he can answer to me."

"I don't wanna go back there." Murdock said.

"You can wait in the van then." B.A answered. "It's your choice."

oOo

Hannibal dialled the number of the van, ready to pass on what he'd been told to the others.

B.A picked it up almost immediately. "Yeah?"

"I've just spoke with the doctor. He said that it's too early for him to be able to tell us much, but Face has lost his right eye. It's unlikely he'll be able to have a glass eye because of the damage to the socket. Other than that, he says we'll have to wait until Face wakes up and take it from there."

B.A had nodded along with what he'd been told. "Okay, Hannibal. I'll tell Murdock. We're on our way to Face's now. I'll let you know if we find anything out."

"Okay." Hannibal responded, hanging up.

oOo

For the rest of the journey they took, B.A told Murdock what Hannibal had told him.

Murdock had asked a few questions, most of which B.A hadn't been able to answer, and then they'd travelled in silence for the last few minutes of the journey.

When they arrived, B.A parked up and asked Murdock one final time what he wanted to do. Murdock stayed in the van, and kept the doors locked. B.A understood Murdock's fear. Without being able to see anything, he couldn't defend himself properly and he hadn't been able to defend Face either.

B.A knew neither him nor Hannibal would have been able to do anything better under the circumstances, but that wouldn't be how Murdock would look at things. He'd blame himself completely for everything, sight or not, he would have wanted to keep Face safe. The fact that Face been hurt so badly as well only would add to the guilty feelings.

B.A would make sure he talked to Murdock later, hoped he'd be able to ease a little of his doubts and worries.

Taking one quick glance back at Murdock as he sat in the van, B.A walked back into the house. It was dark now, even though it hadn't been that long since they'd left here. He opened the door, which hadn't been locked in their haste to leave, switched on the light and found things pretty much as it was left.

Unfortunately, Briggs had left, something B.A wasn't surprised by. He'd only knocked him out but he knew that the man had been hurt. Murdock had shot him in the leg and skimmed his side with another bullet and B.A guessed he'd been knocked out when he fell, as he'd had blood running down his head when he attacked him.

He could see the blood stain where he'd been laying, and there was another, larger one from where Face had been. B.A remembered that Murdock said Briggs had broke in through the back and he went towards the back of the place to see for himself.

Sure enough he saw a sprinkling of glass decorating the kitchen floor, like icing on a cake.

Both the window and the back doors glass was broken, and from the fact it was still ajar, made B.A wonder why they'd bothered to smash the glass to the window at all. He crunched across it until he reached the door and pulled it open. He stood outside, imagined he'd been sneaking up on this house ready to attack. He could clearly see straight into the lounge where Murdock would have been. It would have also been easy to see that he couldn't see, the damage to his eyes was clearly visible from a distance. B.A guessed that Briggs had broken all of the glass just to frighten Murdock. The sound of breaking glass would instantly send someone for cover, whether they could see or not, giving Briggs the opportunity to make it into the house before Murdock would have got up off the floor.

Making his way back in, he knew Murdock had said he'd been taken to the bedroom while Face had remained in the lounge. He went into the bedroom and looked around.

It looked far messier than any room Face had would have looked. The bed was a pile of crumpled sheets and blankets, and there was even a few blood stains on the floor. He's seen Murdock was a little knocked about, in fact he was walking a little stiffly too. He'd have to make sure Murdock hadn't been hurt too badly, although he'd seen the pilot favour his ribs a few times and guessed that was why, but still, he was going to grill Murdock about exactly what happened in that room. Besides from the blood, there was nothing else here.

The things B.A had really wanted was for Briggs' to still be about, but no such luck there. Casting any negativities away, he decided that he'd talk with Murdock again, see if he could think of anything else. Without a description and just two surnames and no Face to help at the minute, their choices were limited.

Before B.A left, he went to the bathroom, needing to relieve himself before they went anywhere else. He wasn't sure what Hannibal would want them to do next, but he was going to find out. In the bathroom, B.A saw a bundle of toilet paper by the side of the toilet. He carefully picked it up, saw it was covered in blood. Wondering where it came from, he put it down the toilet and after relieving himself, flushed.

He tried to think where it could have come from, guessing that it could have been Briggs' before he'd left, but surely he'd not be so dumb as to leave traces of his blood in the house where he'd broken into and attacked the people inside. It didn't make sense. It couldn't be Briggs.

It would have to be someone who didn't know they'd missed the toilet.

Murdock.

He suddenly got a sense of fear in him. What if Murdock had been hurt and hadn't said anything because he knew how badly hurt Face was? He'd do that, it was exactly the sort of stupid thing Murdock would do.

With a new sense of urgency, B.A made his way back out to the van, suddenly frightened of what he'd find out there. All of Murdock behaviour from earlier, not wanting to come into the house all had added meaning, it was probably his way of telling B.A he was hurting.

He made his way outside, and was relieved to see Murdock still sitting there as before, not slumped forward unconscious as B.A had imagined.

But he still had questions.

oOo

Hannibal was lead through to where Face was laying.

He'd heard many clichés over the years about how people looked young and innocent when they were asleep in hospital. Right now, things couldn't be further from the truth. He couldn't see anything innocent about the bandaging around Face's eye covering the hole that would be there without it. And a man who'd spent so many years on the run, who'd been shot at countless times and been in all sorts of fights, that added years to him. Face's smile always made him look young. His eyes brought out the innocence. Right now, he was robbed of those. He looked like what he was, a man clinging to his life from a gunshot wound to the head.

Hannibal had been told by the doctor that Face had stabilised, but was still in critical condition. Seemed a contradiction in terms to him, if he was stable but critical it wasn't all that reassuring. Nonetheless, Hannibal was grateful that Face was still fighting.

Moving over to the the bed, he knelt down beside his lieutenant and placing a hand gently on his arm, he stayed with him for as long as he could, silently ordering him to pull through.

oOo

"Murdock, did you get hurt?" B.A asked, his usual directness at getting to the point.

"What?" Murdock asked, brow creased as he looked towards the man, never able to see him.

"In the bathroom, there was blood on some toilet paper. Who's was it?" B.A asked firmly.

Murdock absently scratched at the back of his head, trying to think. "I don't know... I can't remember."

"You must know if you were hurt, man." B.A pressed. The only time he'd really looked carefully at Murdock since the incident B.A noticed some blood from Murdock's nose, and a bruising the accompanied it. "His broke your nose, I think." B.A said. "Let me see it." He gently reached out, touching with careful fingers. Murdock flinched at the touch, not realising until he was touched how much it hurt.

"I'll get Hannibal to sort it. Best get back to the hospital anyway, tell him we had no luck here."

B.A took his hands away.

oOo

Hannibal had spent as long as he could with Face until he'd all but been kicked out by the nurse.

There was so much on his mind right now, he didn't know where to begin.

The first was obviously Face. Whether he'd cope with one eye, that was if he could see at all. Hannibal knew it was possible and likely that Face could be completely blinded after the attack. Face had told him before that if you couldn't con something out of someone, pity was the next best thing, and the pity Face would have been got back then would be different to the type he'd get now. Hannibal got the feeling that Face might inadvertently get that reaction when or if they returned to missions.

Then there was the problem with what to do with Murdock.

Officially he was released from the VA and had no where to go.

To him, Murdock was the same as he'd been for the last four years, more stable than when he'd first arrived, but still not ready for living on his own. That meant staying with one of them, Face being the best option originally but not now. B.A would probably take Murdock in, Hannibal guessed. He knew that he'd be feeling protective over him and would want him where he could keep an eye out for him.

He'd considered asking Amy, but even knowing she could cope with Murdock, she might not cope as well with him when the nightmares took hold, which Hannibal knew they would. Sightless, frightened and having woken up from something that wasn't just a nightmare, but for the most part had happened to you would be too much for Amy to cope with.

There was also still the possibility that Face may not make it.

The doctors said his progress was good, but there's still some trauma, some swelling to the brain but it should lessen over time. They'd said about the next 48 hours being crucial. He hadn't shared that with B.A, because if he had, he'd have felt obliged to tell Murdock, and that was something Murdock didn't need to know right now.

Hannibal wanted to smoke a cigar right now more than anything, but he didn't want to leave. He had no cigar on him, a rarity really, but whenever he ran out, Face always had one for him. Smoke, or stay as near as he could to Face, just in case, there really wasn't an option. Nothing could make him leave here.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and B.A came in, Murdock holding onto his arm.

Hannibal tried to calm himself, the way his heart jumped into his mouth every time someone opened the door was an unpleasant feeling.

"How's he doin'?" B.A asked, moving into the room and leading Murdock to a chair.

"Stable they say, but still not out of the woods. Did you find anything?" He bypassed the 'still critical' information.

B.A shook his head. "Nothing left there. Jus' got the names of the two guys who kept Murdock at bay while Face was shot. Thomas and Briggs."

Hannibal looked thoughtful for a moment or two. "I don't recall them. Ring any bells with you two?" Both of them shook their heads no.

"They didn't sound familiar." Murdock added, feeling it was little help. If only he didn't have these damn powder burns he could have been more help.

Almost as though Hannibal read Murdock's mind, he moved across and sat next to him. "You know Murdock, if you hadn't stayed with Face he'd be dead right now."

Murdock hung his head down and just nodded a little.

Hannibal knew the guilt wouldn't just disperse as easily as a few words from him, but he'd do his bit. The most healing would come from B.A and when he was better, Face.

"Why don't we all stay here for a few hours. It's late so it should be quiet around here. Then tomorrow, me and Murdock can go catch a nap, take it in turns to wait here."

B.A nodded, "Sound good, man." He said. "You need to fix Murdock's nose, too. It's broken."

Hannibal nodded his head too.

This is what his team needed right now, some unity.


	4. Twitching

A/N: I didn't realise I had so much of this written. Goes up to chapter 7! It's not finished though, but hey, it's pretty cool. So, I thought I'd better send along an update. Hope you enjoy.

4. Twitching

Murdock wanted to be alone.

Everything he did, he had Hannibal or B.A with him.

True enough he couldn't navigate his way around a hospital, but even when he went to the restroom, they came with him and waited right there for him. He'd waited as long as possible, finding the whole thing embarrassing, but he'd got to the point where he couldn't wait any longer. He'd whispered for B.A to take him, knowing the big man was right by his side. B.A quietly told Hannibal that they wouldn't be a minute as they left the room.

When they reached the restroom, Murdock stopped just short of being lead into one of the cubicles and turned to hopefully face B.A. "Can you give me a few minutes, B.A?"

B.A thought Murdock looked a little flustered. "Sure man, I'll give you ten minutes, then I'll come back for you."

Murdock smiled weakly at the larger man as he made his way into the cubicle and locked the door behind him. Murdock removed the wad of toilet paper he stuffed in his boxers earlier, and replaced it was some new, dry paper.

Ten minutes later, B.A returned. Murdock was standing by the sink, washing his hands absently.

"You ready?" B.A asked, moving over, so Murdock could take his arm again.

"Yeah." Murdock replied, drying his hands on his pants before grasping out for his friend.

As they left the room, B.A noticed Murdock was moving slower again, in pain. "What's the matter?"

Murdock looked down. "My ribs are a little sore, but I don't think it's too bad."

He stopped moving. "Let me look." B.A said.

Murdock stopped too, as his guide took his arm away. Murdock carefully pulled his shirt up, and his tee, revealing nasty bruising on his rib cage.

No wonder Murdock was so stiff, B.A thought to himself. "Why didn't you say something?"

Murdock shrugged. "What does a few sore ribs matter when you think what pain Face must be in."

"It still matter. We need you to be healthy too." B.A shook his head, even knowing Murdock couldn't see it. "We'll get them wrapped up later, okay?" Murdock nodded in response.

"B.A, will I be able to stay here tomorrow some of the time, or do you think Hannibal will want me outta the way again?"

B.A marvelled at how Murdock made it sound as though it were a decision Hannibal relished in making. "I'll talk to him, see if you can come back. But you'll have to get some rest too."

Murdock again nodded. "Let's get back."

oOo

Murdock couldn't remember falling asleep until he was awoken by Hannibal gently shaking him.

"Time to get going, Captain." Hannibal said, holding onto Murdock's wrist as he helped pull him up. "It's almost seven." Murdock felt tired and realised the waiting room was hotter than it was yesterday. He'd have to leave his jacket behind when he came back later.

They made their way out to the van, Hannibal was going to take the vette, but this way B.A could contact them while they travelled back to Hannibal's apartment.

It didn't take long to get there, they were well before the rush hour and Hannibal was keen to get some shut eye. Murdock was the only one who'd slept, he and B.A had been discussing a few things, but he could see it would be easier for Murdock, eyes already closed and all.

At his apartment, Hannibal offered Murdock the bed, but he refused and took the couch instead, saying he probably wouldn't sleep again.

Within minutes of laying down, Hannibal was asleep.

oOo

B.A had been allowed in with Face for a hour or so.

It was nice to be able to see him, but he felt guilty that even if Murdock came, he couldn't see his friend.

There were times when B.A saw how close they were and was envious of that bond.

The team were all close, maybe Hannibal being the only one who didn't seem as though he was as he tried to keep order, tried to keep them running as a team, not a group of friends. But sometimes it was useless. Murdock could go off on little joyrides in his mind and Face gladly joined him some of the time.

Hell, sometimes Hannibal even joined him too. B.A never joined in. Not that he was so against Murdock expressing himself however he needed to, but he felt too uptight at times to be able to let go like the others could.

It was one of the things he admired most about Murdock, his ability to be whatever he wanted.

Face had even said before that if he wanted, Murdock could scam people as well as he could. Murdock didn't put the time and effort into it that Face would, he was spontaneous.

It wasn't as well structured, but if the results were the same at the end of the day, what did it matter.

B.A shook his head, wanted to stop thinking about the past. Things weren't going to be like that any more. Face could be blinded for life. It was something he and Hannibal had talked about last night. They discussed a thousand possibilities, everything that could happen and what they'd do if it did happen, and then they'd said how it was best not to think about it.

Rubbing his eyes, B.A realised how gritty and tired they were. He knew he'd have to go soon, when Hannibal got back. He wondered if Murdock would be back with him.

B.A had told him what Murdock had said last night and Hannibal said he'd see how Murdock was coping. It was obvious enough that Hannibal was worried about Murdock's mentality.

It was another of the things that they weren't talking about.

He took one last look at Face, and made his way back to the waiting room.

Just after the door closed, Face's hand moved.

oOo

Hannibal felt refreshed after his sleep and took a shower to clean up as well.

After dressing, he made his way into the lounge and was surprised to see Murdock still asleep.

Or was he? It was hard to tell whether he was awake or not with his eyes swollen shut.

"Murdock?" He called softly.

There was no answer.

He noticed Murdock looked a little hot and pulled back one of the blankets he was covered in. Instinctively he pressed the palm of his hand against Murdock forehead and felt the heat of a fever burning. He needed to go and relieve B.A but he'd have to wake Murdock up first, there was no way he could just leave him to wake up alone without an explanation.

He shook Murdock gently, saw his eyes moving under the lids. He made a few noises, nothing coherent. "Murdock, I'm going to the hospital. You're staying here. B.A'll be back in a little while, okay?"

"'Kay." Murdock mumbled.

Before leaving, Hannibal got a damp wash cloth and laid it against Murdock's head.

He left the apartment, locking it securely as he went and drove as fast as possible back to the hospital.

oOo

B.A jumped a little as Hannibal came rushing into the waiting room.

He looked like he'd ran all the way back.

"Any news?" Hannibal asked, a little out of breath.

B.A shook his head. Hannibal took a deep breath. "You need to go back to my apartment, Murdock's running a fever, I left him there to rest."

"Right." B.A said. He thought about the soup his momma used to make when he was sick as a kid, a tasty chicken soup full of vegetables. That's what he'd make for them.

"I was allowed in with Face for a while earlier. They said someone else could go in a little later on."

"Thanks B.A." Hannibal said as he watched B.A leave the room.

Then Hannibal went to find a nurse so he could visit Face again.

oOo

B.A had brought in a bowl of ice cold water to dip the wash cloth in so to keep Murdock's temperature down.

He wished he was at his own apartment, somewhere he knew where everything was. He'd like to get a temperature from Murdock, but without going off and leaving him alone to look for one here, he knew it would have to wait.

As he rinsed the cloth out once more he checked the wounds on Murdock's head, looking for any signs of infection from one of them. They looked clear abd were healing well.

He remembered Murdock's sore ribs from the night before and pulled Murdock's tee shirt up a little, but saw nothing but bruising. No swelling or anything out of the ordinary.

He frowned, wondering where Murdock could have picked up the infection from.

The phone ringing cut B.A out of his thoughts, as he rushed to answer it. "Yeah?"

"Face is awake." Hannibal said.

oOo

"Hey kid, how you feeling?" Hannibal asked, looking down at the younger man.

"Not great." Face mumbled back. Both eyes were bandaged up for now.

"Well, that's understandable. You've been through a lot."

"Is everyone else here?" Face asked.

"Not at the minute. B.A'll come by later. Had to send him and Murdock home to get some rest."

Face nodded a little. Hannibal could tell how exhausted he was just from the conversation they'd had. "Why don't you get some more rest. We'll be here waiting for you when you wake up."

Face nodded.

Hannibal could tell within a few minutes that he had returned to sleep, and he left the man alone.

oOo

B.A felt more relieved since Hannibal had told him Face was awake again.

The colonel had asked B.A if he wanted to swap round again, so he could see Face and as much as he wanted to, he said that for now he'd stay with Murdock.

Hannibal had been just as anxious as he was about seeing Face and it wasn't as though he had a useless job here, he was looking after Murdock. He could wait. Hannibal was a better talker than he was anyway.

Murdock's had been sleeping a restless sleep. So much tossing and turning, B.A wondered what it was the pilot was dreaming about. Probably nonsense, fevered sleep was always like that, not that you could ever remember much.

He'd almost finished making the soup. He'd made enough for Murdock to have when he woke later, for himself and for Hannibal. Even though the colonel wasn't coming back for a few hours still, he'd have to eat something. Soup was good for them all. Didn't really feel like eating but kept you going strong.

And right now, they all needed a lot of strength to get through the next few days. They'd need to be strong for Face.

oOo

_The weight on top of him never shifted. _

_His ribs screamed and protested and that pain was what he focused on, because he couldn't even think about what else was happening to him. _

_Briggs had hoisted his legs onto the bed and he'd heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down. There was a brief rustling of clothes, before he felt a hand turn him over so he was on his back and his own zip was unfastened. There was a tugging on his pants and he felt them move down his legs. He grasped for them but his hands seemed to go slower than ever before and the material alluded him. His mind was working slowly too, and he reacted too late to stop his boxers being removed. _

_That's when the weight was added to him. He tried to wriggle free, but it hurt more when he moved, so he stayed still, momentarily elated to be blinded for fear of how much worse it would be seeing this. He tried to push away the man away with his hands, tried to get enough strength to be able to push the weight off of him, alleviate some of the pressure. His wrists were grabbed, the left one flung back to the bed, but Briggs kept hold of the right one. Fists clenched tightly, he couldn't understand when his fingers were pried apart, let it happen. Briggs held them open, then controlling him all the way, he lowered his hand until it brushed against something..._

"Wake up, Murdock" B.A called loudly, shaking the man fiercely. "It was just a dream, calm down."

Murdock felt the fear that gripped him from sleep still had a hold of him, but the reassurance of B.A's voice somehow broke through to him. He didn't move, didn't say anything, he just lay there, trying to calm his shaking body as much as possible.

"It's okay, you're safe." B.A was saying over and over. He didn't understand, of course. Murdock wasn't safe. Even sleep couldn't keep him safe right now. "Murdock? Can you hear me?" B.A asked.

Murdock nodded, not sure enough of his voice just yet.

"Hannibal called earlier, said Face is awake."

"He is?"

"Yeah, said he's real tired, but the doctors happy with the progress his made and he could be home soon."

"S'good." Murdock said.

"Try get some more rest. Gotta shake this fever before you can go visit Face, otherwise you might make him worry 'bout ya."

"Try." Murdock said, feeling a headache starting. He placed a hand over his stomach, that aching too. He turned away from where B.A was and hoped he'd sleep peacefully this time.

oOo

Hannibal had been there with Face when the doctor had told him the news.

It was one of those good news, bad news deals. Good news, you're not dead and you're not blind. Bad news, you've lost your eye. It hadn't been easy to see Face go through that, but Hannibal was pleased with the way Face was coping so far.

Hannibal too felt some sense of relief. He'd convinced himself that Face would be blinded for life and the fact that he'd still have some vision was a huge thing. He hoped Face came to realise that given time, but Hannibal knew he was grateful for the small mercy.

At the minute he was still in shock of course. It'd take a while for him to get past that stage and then that's when the anger and denial would crop up. But despite that, he knew Face would be alright. It would take time to adjust to things, how different things would be, but Face was one of the strongest people he knew.

After what they'd seen people suffer in Nam, what injuries people would come back with and they were considered the lucky ones. Sometimes you couldn't even find enough of them left to identify. Searching through what easily could have been a butchers choice cuts just to find dog tags to take back and inform the next of kin, that was just one of burdens they carried with them.

Face had survived horrors of war, in comparison, this was easy.

But it was also personal.

That was something Hannibal needed to know about right now. "Face, what can you remember about what happened?"

Face frowned. His left eye was still covered, this time by something a little more discreet than bandages wrapped all over his head. He had a white bandage over the eye and that was it. It was easier for Face to adjust to, the doctor had told Hannibal. "Well, I went out to get something for me and Murdock to eat. He seemed... I don't know, a little down I guess about not being able to do anything. So when he suggested eating from Bonanza Burger I was going to say no because I knew I wasn't supposed to leave him, but I wanted to cheer him up. So I went and got food, told Murdock to stay where he was and not answer the door or phone. Got back with the food, can't have been longer than.. 20 minutes." Face sucked in a deep breath.

"If this is too hard..."

Face smiled. "No, it's not. This guy came up, said his name was Mick Davis and he had something to do with a girl I'd been out with Sandy Hanson. Said he was her boyfriend, she _told me_ that she'd broken up with him. Anyway, they said they were going to take me inside and teach me a lesson, something like that, but I knew Murdock was there, so I told them that someone was inside, hoping he'd at least go somewhere else to beat the crap out of me. He already knew that, because he had a guy inside there with Murdock. He got his other guy to go in there and move Murdock out the way. Called 'em... Briggs and er, Briggs and Thomas. When Davis got me inside, they were all gone. The back window was smashed. It all went so quickly from there. I can't really remember what he said, just suddenly there was this gun in my face and I thought, this is it. I knew Murdock couldn't do anything, so thought I'd be meeting my maker. Weird, 'cause even though I was prepared for it, I still didn't see it coming. Never thought he'd pull the trigger. Never knew he had, it was just done. Gone. It was just... weird."

Hannibal nodded. He knew it was hard for Face to go through that again, but he'd given them a name. That's what they needed. With Face recovering and now a name to be held responsible for what had happened, Hannibal started to feel they were half way home.


	5. Healing Process

5. Healing Process

B.A frowned as he watched Murdock.

He'd handed him a hot bowl of freshly made soup and so far he hadn't touched it.

"What's the matter? I just made that." B.A stated, even knowing he'd told Murdock that when he served it up. Maybe before that as well.

"I'm not hungry." Murdock said.

"You must be. I'm hungry, so you gotta be too." B.A stated matter of factly.

"Well I'm not." Murdock replied. He picked up the bowl, held it a moment before putting it down. "You know what I wanna do with this right now? I'd love to smash it against the wall, so you'd know just how I feel, but I can't do that, because I could hit you or damage something irreplaceable of Hannibal's. Do you even have any idea how I feel?" Murdock snapped.

"I know you're angry." B.A stated, placing his spoon into the bowl, finished for the moment.

"I'm not angry." Murdock shouted, clearly displaying the truth in his tone.

"You don't have to eat. But if you don't, you won't be going to see Face."

"I won't be able to _see_ Face anyway." Murdock reminded him, bitterly.

"It's not the point. Face won't be able to see you properly either, but you'll be alright in a few days, and you're still moaning. Face is the one I should be with right now, but I'm here with you who doesn't even know how to be grateful for all his got. Don't know what's gotten into you, man, but you need to sort yourself out. I'm going to the hospital, you can stay here awhile and calm down."

B.A stood up, the chair scraping across the floor.

Murdock heard him march across to the door and slam it shut as he left him alone.

Once the door was closed, Murdock picked up the spoon and launched it across the room, relieved when he heard it clatter to the floor.

oOo

Hannibal was surprised to see B.A looking through the glass of the door.

"I'm gonna go get a coffee, kid. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, you go. I'll be fine." Face said.

Hannibal left the room, B.A having ducked round the corner so Face wouldn't see him and joined Hannibal as he began to walk down the corridor. "Coffee." Hannibal said as way of explaining where they were going. B.A nodded and Hannibal continued. "What's up then?"

"I think we need to bring Murdock down to see Face, he's having a hard time."

"It'd be a good idea. Probably help Face too, let him see that he's okay. I think he's thinking we're hiding something from him."

"Did you tell him about the fever?"

"No. How is it?"

"Better. But he ain't other than that."

"Okay. Let me get my coffee, as that's why I left. You can come see Face and take over here and I'll go back and see Murdock, tell him we'll bring him down tomorrow."

"Don't tell 'im he can 'see' Face."

Hannibal grimaced a little at the reminder. It was so easy to forget, especially with Face being the main concern right now. Murdock's vision would be fine just as soon as the swelling subsided. "Yeah, I'll watch that."

oOo

Murdock carefully made his way into the kitchen.

He'd stayed sat where he was a long time after B.A had gone before moving.

Trying not to knock anything over, he felt around draws and cupboards until he found what he was looking for. The cutlery draw.

He thought back, tried to remember what side Hannibal kept the sharp knives.

oOo

Hannibal walked into his apartment, seeing that Murdock wasn't in the lounge.

"Murdock?" He called out, wondering where he'd be. He briefly pondered if he'd have left, but remembered the door had been locked. Besides, Murdock knew they were worried about Face right now and wouldn't do anything to distract them from that.

"Hannibal?" Murdock answered.

"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing Murdock turn his head down.

He held up a spoon. Hannibal was confused. "Er, why have you got a spoon?"

"B.A said I couldn't see Face unless I had something to eat, and I really wanted to see him. I sort of, threw the other one and couldn't find it."

Hannibal wondered if B.A had been too hard on Murdock or if it had worked, but not knowing how the pilot had been earlier, he'd have to go with B.A's judgement. At least Murdock was making amends. Hannibal moved towards Murdock and helped him back to the seat where the soup was. Murdock jumped a little when Hannibal touched him and he realised he should have told him what he was doing first. "You know that we'd never really keep you away from Face, right?"

"B.A sounded pretty serious." Murdock said, sadly.

"He's worried about you too, you know. What's Face gonna say if he finds out that you haven't eaten anything, huh? He'd be furious... with all of us."

"I know." Murdock said meekly.

"Okay. B.A's staying at the hospital for a while and he'll be back tonight. Let Face get a good nights sleep and we'll all go down tomorrow for a visit. And you can see him first."

Hannibal could have kicked himself.

oOo

Face felt as though he hadn't even slept last night.

His mind had been racing with all the things he'd been told.

Hannibal had down played much of what he'd been told, but it was better than him getting hysterical. It had helped keep him calm, at least while he was there.

Later in the night, after B.A had gone all he could do was think about things that he'd been told. He had a lot of mixed feelings, which he knew would be normal, but that didn't help much. On one hand, he was relieved that he was alive and that the injuries he'd sustained, while still serious, weren't any worse. But on the other hand, he was constantly in turmoil as to why this had to happen to him at all.

He knew he'd look different, and the superficial aspect of that didn't bother him. He could cope with looking different, he could even use it to his advantage for a con as he'd look more like an innocent victim, but it was his sight, his vision. His mind would race forward to years in the future where he, as an old man, could have poor eye sight and now with just the one eye, he'd be useless, have to have people look after him. That loss of independence scared him more than any physical difference ever could.

And the ways people would perceive him when he wasn't on a con, that would bother him too. Fair enough for people to think about that poor man who'd lost his eye when he wanted them to think that, but it wasn't like a normal con, he couldn't stop them thinking that all the time.

He wouldn't be able to turn off the sympathy.

All the thoughts ran through his head the whole night until eventually, exhausted, he'd drifted off to sleep. It wasn't peaceful or restful, but it was sleep.

And now he lay here, awaiting his friends visit. The only thing about his day that he had to look forward too. He hoped he'd at least get to see Murdock today. His absence had been explained away by having to rest, but he felt there was something more that B.A and Hannibal were keeping from him and he wouldn't be happy if that were later proved true.

For now, all he could do was wait.

oOo

B.A had arranged to meet Murdock and Hannibal at hospital the following morning.

He was surprised to see Murdock had one eye open, the swelling on the right side having gone down enough to allow him some vision. He was glad that Murdock would be able to see Face now but Murdock had told him that his vision was still a little blurry and headache inducing.

Hannibal had agreed to let Murdock go in first, but Murdock asked Hannibal to go first. He'd felt bad that the swelling had gone down and that his left eye was swollen still, like it was some sort of sick reminder to Face that this is what he looked like, but Murdock's would heal. Of course it was ridiculous to think like that, but Murdock was still feeling vulnerable so Hannibal had agreed, saying he'd tell Face.

B.A went and brought back two coffee's and Murdock thanked him and placed it next to him, waiting for it to cool enough to be drinkable.

B.A had drunk most of his when he realised Murdock still had a full cup.

"Don't forget your drink, man."

"I'll drink it now." Murdock said, as he reached for the cup.

Just after he picked it up, Hannibal came back.

"Face wants to see you, if you're ready." Hannibal said to Murdock. The colonel went over to a spare seat and sat down, looking relieved to take the weight off his feet.

"How's he doin'?" B.A asked, before Murdock had made a move to leave.

"He's doing good. Obviously he's still in some pain, but I think considering everything he's going through he's keeping a good out look. He knows he's been lucky, even though it doesn't seem like it. Could have been a lot worse."

B.A nodded, Murdock stood up, the urge to see Face right now was stronger than ever. "Where's the room?"

"Take a left out of here and go all the way to the end of the hall, turn right and it's the third door on the left."

Murdock nodded and left the room.

B.A waited for the door to close, before turning to Hannibal. "All that true?"

"What?"

"What you said? Face doing alright?"

"Of course."

"Thought you might have tried to soften the blow for Murdock."

Hannibal smiled. "No. He needs to know what's happening. Besides, he'll see for himself in a few minutes, won't he."

oOo

Murdock knocked hesitantly before entering the room.

Face smile greeted him, it wasn't even a fake one, he did look genuinely happy. Murdock assumed he'd try and play them a little with the whole 'I'm okay' routine, but Hannibal was right, he was doing fine, at least for now. Murdock could do little more than be grateful for the here and now.

He smiled back at Face, maybe it wasn't as solid as it could have been, but it was a smile.

There was a chair next to the bed and Murdock went and sat in it, placed the cop of coffee on the table.

"How's the powder burns?" Face asked.

"Getting better." Murdock answered.

"It looks worse than it did."

"Looks can be deceiving, huh?" Murdock frowned at what he'd said. "Sorry, that's..."

"Hey, it's alright. Things are going to be different, I know that. It's gonna be hard, but I'm just glad that this is the worse thing that happened."

Murdock found swallowing hard just then, like something was crawling up his throat and he wanted to keep it down. He nodded slightly at Face then looked away.

Silence filtered through the room for a while, before Face spoke again. "Look Murdock, I know what happened is going to be hard to adjust to, for all of us, but I need you to know that there's nothing you could have done about this. You do know that, don't you? That it's not your fault."

"I guess so, but if I hadn't been there, you would never have gone out." Murdock's brow creased and he looked down. "For a damn burger."

"No, you can't do that. It's not fair." Murdock looked up, confused. "They'd have got in, one way or the other. If you hadn't been there... we both know I'd be dead right now."

Murdock nodded again, not saying anything. Face reached out for Murdock, gently, awkwardly, touched his shoulder. "Doesn't make it easier, I know. But it will. Once we've got through all this, in time."

"What, I'll realise that it was a good thing you got shot?" Murdock asked, not quite anger in his voice, but maybe the beginning of it starting. He moved away so Face's grip on him was released. He rubbed a hand across his forehead and then his eyes. "I'm sorry. These damn bright hospital lights are giving me a headache. Maybe I'll go back, let B.A come see ya."

"You don't have to go, it's nice just knowing you're here." Face said.

"B.A wants to see you too. I'll still be here, just down the hall with Hannibal."

"See me before you go?"

"Sure thing." Murdock stood up and walked away.

"Hey, you forgot your drink." Face said, pointing almost to the cup on the side.

"Better drink it, don't want B.A to think I'm wasting money. I'll see ya later."

Face smiled and nodded as Murdock left the room.

Once the door was closed, Murdock let a sigh escape his lips. He'd wanted to be a lot stronger, more positive for Face. He'd have to try harder next time.

Murdock slowly made his way back to the waiting room.

He turned the corner and the warm liquid hit the back of his throat. Instinctively Murdock spat it back out, a memory flooding his mind of what had happened hours ago.

Struggling to control himself and the images that threatened to consume him, Murdock didn't even notice the man walking towards him.

TBC


	6. Damaged

6. Damaged

Murdock reached out and found the wall, steadied himself against it.

It was cool under his sweaty palm and it helped anchor him. He closed his eyes tightly, willing the thoughts to go away. The cup had been discarded on the floor, no doubt the contents spilt everywhere, but he didn't look, he just focused on clearing his mind before he had a full on panic attack.

He was loosing control, he knew it. He wished one of the guys was here. Wished they knew what was wrong and could help him through this because he felt he was free falling right now and he'd land with a splat on the ground.

Repeating in his mind over and over that it was only coffee, Murdock regained a little control. Forcing himself to open his eyes to see what was real, not something his mind was making him see. He became slightly self conscious when he saw a man walking towards him.

It wasn't a doctor, just another patient, walking with a limp. Murdock thought it might be best to go back with Face, but he'd want to know what was wrong and Murdock couldn't just explain it away so easily.

The man was nearly by Murdock now, and instinctively he moved so his back was against the wall. The man looked at Murdock, smiled a little. "Are you okay, buddy. You need a doctor?" He spoke with a peculiar accent, sounding like he was from New York. He gracefully bypassed the coffee on the floor.

"I'm fine." Murdock answered curtly, hoping the man, for all his good intentions, would get the hint and leave.

"Well you don't look so hot, maybe you should sit down." He said, stopping by Murdock side, making him feel uncomfortable.

"I said I'm fine."

"Okay then, pal, I was just trying to help."

Murdock was about to make his way back to the waiting room when the man's hand landed on his shoulder, Murdock turned sharply, but stayed calm, he was a civilian after all. The man smiled, revealing yellow stained teeth. "Did you like my accent?"

Murdock stared at him. He knew that voice and this was the face that went with it.

His worse nightmare in front of him. Briggs. And he was frozen, too afraid to do anything.

"Didn't think you'd seen the last of me did you?" He sneered. Seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out a scalpel, held it to Murdock's arm. "Well, I guess this is the first time you're seeing me, huh? Maybe I could replay what happened back at the house so you can see it and really enjoy it this time."

Murdock flinched, felt the metal of the knife cut into him but didn't care, he had to get away. But Briggs was stronger and after a struggle, he got a grip on Murdock, good enough to allow him some movement. "Don't worry, I've got us a room here." He said as he began moving Murdock forwards towards a room where the door was open. Opening it, he threw Murdock inside closing the door quickly behind him.

Briggs started undoing his belt.

oOo

Hannibal looked out the window down at the car park.

It was nothing of interest to him out there, it just meant he could avoid keep looking at B.A, smiling awkwardly and then saying nothing. He tried to relax as much as possible, but he had a nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. He knew Murdock was with Face and if anything was wrong, he'd have told them by now, but still, it didn't ease his irrational fears.

"I'm just going to get some more coffee. Want any?" Hannibal asked.

"Nah, had enough of the damn stuff."

"I won't be long." Hannibal said, standing and quickly leaving the room. He fought an internal battle as to whether it would be so wrong for him to pass by Face's room, just to make sure everything was fine. He reasoned that it took no longer to get to a vending machine going that way, than the one they'd been using before.

Hannibal walked down the corridor, seeing a cleaner up ahead mopping the floor and heard him muttering to himself as Hannibal passed. Something about the 'damn mess that people left for others'. Careful not to walk where the cleaner had just mopped, Hannibal heard the sound of metal crashing to the floor somewhere behind him just as a doctor ran down the corridor and rushed into a room.

Face's room.

The panic hit him again and like the doctor, Hannibal ran to the room.

oOo

Murdock never looked away from Briggs.

The man slammed the door shut, and stared undoing his belt. Murdock looked into his face.

He already knew it would be etched into his mind forever but this was so he didn't have to see what he was doing. He started to close the gap between them, but Murdock knew that despite the disadvantage he was at, he had to try and fight. The room was sparse in equipment, obvious due to the fact it wasn't currently in use, but there was the bed. Murdock moved around it, putting it between them.

Murdock noticed that Briggs had dropped the scalpel somewhere, probably by the door. He wasn't dumb enough to drop it outside and draw attention to the room. Murdock wished he had something he could use against Briggs but there was nothing.

Briggs reached the other side of the bed. "You want it on the bed or on the floor?" he asked, grinning sickly. He grabbed the side, tipping the gurney up, letting it crash loudly to the ground.

Murdock prayed someone would hear and come to see what was happening.

And he'd have to hold Briggs off as long as he could.

oOo

He couldn't see him.

The room was so full of nurses and doctors that Hannibal couldn't catch a clear glimpse of his friend on the bed. He could see one covered foot, maybe a bit of his torso, but he needed to see his face, see how bad it was.

He knew if he saw his face he'd be able to tell. Know whether it was too late.

"What's happening?" He yelled, above the voices of the men working.

"Get him out the way." One of the men in the room shouted.

A nurse came over, moved Hannibal to one side.

"Tell me what's happening?"

"There's been some complications. We're working on him but we need time. We'll let you know as soon as he's stable."

Hannibal found himself watching as Face was wheeled away, down the corridor in the opposite direction in which Hannibal had came The nurse stood there with him, waiting for him to move on.

Slowly, he moved. Back to the waiting room, now feeling like they whole things had just started again.

oOo

B.A jerked slightly when the door was opened suddenly.

Hannibal came in looking mad as hell. "Where is he?"

"Who?" B.A asked.

"Murdock? He's not been back here?"

B.A shook his head, knew something was wrong. "Why?"

"They've just taken Face away. It's not looking good. Murdock wasn't in there."

"Probably just went to the bathroom, or something." B.A said. He stood up now, Hannibal still standing there looking like he was ready for anything. "I'll go look for him."

"No, I'll go. You stay here." Hannibal turned but B.A reached out, grabbed his shoulder stopping him from leaving.

"Stay here. In case they come with news." B.A said.

"I want to find Murdock." Hannibal said turning away, assuming B.A would release his grip. Instead it got tighter.

"Stay. You ain't talking to Murdock when you're like this."

B.A didn't care what Murdock's shrink had said, in his opinion Murdock wasn't better, still wasn't as stable as he should be. And the sudden down turn in Face's health had released Hannibal's anger. It was all now aimed at Murdock and if he let go of his control, Hannibal could say something he'd regret and Murdock would probably do the same.

Hannibal crossed the room quickly, back to the window he'd stood at earlier. "Don't be long." he said. It sounded harsh and full of rage.

It was. But it also said 'Don't leave me here alone.'

Hannibal turned as the door closed.

He was alone.

oOo

B.A marched down the hall, trying not to just bellow out Murdock's name.

He hoped Murdock hadn't got distracted by something stupid. The man had a tendency to pick the worse possible moments for something like that.

It didn't take long for B.A to become distracted himself. A cleaner had his ear to a door just ahead and B.A wondered what he could be doing. He didn't like peeping tom's. The cleaner noticed B.A before he was level with him and quickly moved on, obviously knowing what he was doing was wrong.

B.A carried on when a loud grunting from the room the cleaner had his ear too stopped him. He thought a first it may have been a couple having a private moment, but then he heard a voice shout 'Get off'. He was more surprised that he recognised that voice. He knew who it was speaking, no yelling, so who they hell was in there with him?

B.A barged through the door, instantly recognising the man in there with Murdock as Briggs.

It took him a few moments longer to realise what he was trying to do to his friend.

oOo

Hannibal spun round as the waiting room door was open, not sure if it would be B.A or a doctor with bad news.

He was a little surprised and relieved to see B.A and Murdock along with someone who he didn't recognise.

He frowned at the man. "Who is he?" Hannibal asked, knowing the way B.A was handling him meant that he couldn't be anyone they wanted around.

"Guy worked for Davis. He's the guy that beat up Murdock." B.A said. There was no masking his fury right now.

Hannibal crossed the room in a few short steps. "Sit." He ordered the man, who slowly did as he was told. "You need to answer my questions, pal and if you don't you'll be in more trouble then you even thought was possible. Me and my friends aren't very happy with you and your boss and we want payback. Unless your very careful, you'll be the one that pays that price. You understand?"

A quick nod seemed to prove that he wasn't under any disillusions about what would happen if he didn't co-operate.

"Where's Davis? Where will we find him?"

"He's got this yacht down at the docks. He spends a lot of time down there, taking it out."

"What's it called?"

"The Devil's Luck', I think. I heard him say that a few times, I ain't interested in boats."

Hannibal heard the door close, Murdock having just left. He gave a quick look at B.A, saw something he didn't like to see in any of his men. Something pure. Rage. He'd gone past anger. He'd left fury behind, he was at rage. Hannibal might not have all the answers right now but Briggs did and Hannibal was determined to use it to his advantage. "You wanna finish this, B.A?"

B.A looked at the man with utter contempt. "I ain't wasting my time on that. I'll go get the van for when your finished." With that, B.A left, no doubt to find Murdock again.

oOo

B.A found Murdock just outside the room, leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"You okay?" He asked and Murdock simply nodded in response.

B.A had hated what he'd seen when he went in to that room.

The gurney had been on it's side, wheels still spinning, while Briggs had a grip on Murdock's arm which he was working hard on releasing by showering Briggs with blows. He'd done his best, but the guy was stronger than Murdock was and he had a hold of his right arm, making the blows that connected less powerful.

Of course, it had been redundant after that as B.A had grabbed hold of Briggs and pried him away from Murdock then flung him over the other side of the room. B.A checked Murdock was alright and saw Murdock nod slightly letting him know he wasn't hurt. B.A turned back around to Briggs, his arms moved to his sides quickly and B.A wondered if he'd armed himself. He couldn't see anything except a scalpel on the floor, he may have been going for that.

He'd not given him a chance to think about anything else, he'd made his way over and grabbed hold of Briggs by the collar, ushered him out the door and they'd begun their march down to the waiting room where they knew Hannibal would be.

B.A noticed the deeply troubled look in Murdock's eyes, knew he needed to reassure him. "Face'll be alright. The doctor's will do there job."

"I know. He seemed to be doing well." Murdock said

An alarm suddenly sounded in B.A's head and he realised Murdock didn't know about Face's latest condition, not that he knew much himself. "Murdock, Face ain't doing so good."

Murdock looked into B.A's eyes, unsure. "I've just come from there. He's fine."

"After you went, he... something happened. We don't know much yet." B.A looked at the room he'd just come from. He needed to get the van. "Jus' stay here. We gotta sort that guy out."

"We're not gonna leave here, are we? I told Face I'd see him again later." Murdock sounded a little desperate now, like he couldn't break that promise he'd made.

"See what Hannibal says." B.A said. Walking towards the car park, B.A realised it was the last thing any of them wanted to do right now, leave Face here alone. Especially when things were so uncertain. But they had to get the guy who hurt Face as well.

Maybe they could compromise. Maybe one of them could stay behind.

B.A knew who it should be. He just hoped Hannibal saw things the same way.

TBC


End file.
